Sea anchor



Jan. 2, 1951 L. P. FRIEDER ET AL 2,536,681

SEA ANCHOR Filed Dec. 7, 1945 INVENTOR W/ ml/m HTTORNEYN Patented Jan. 2, 1951 e. tEr-iflder, lei-eat :Neck, and smelis. gEinken, ,Brooklyn, ;N. ,1; said Einken :assignor gtasaililEriefier A pplicationmecember 7,1945, Serial No. 633,357

flhis rinvention :relates iii-01a isea anchor 1$ eperticularly suserul far retarding ithe rate 101' drift 0f wessels under wind :pressure and :fcrzincreasing who rate of idrift ii-n water icurrents. this :sea

rancher can be :made :01. Such sizes that -:it ads iuseful tor wessels :of :Si-zBs drum hat {of :a small Ellie wait :to "that of -:an cean ssteamer. it {32180 akeeps the vessels einto :the @wind and waves.

iIt iils'zwell ilmown ithatvwhen ships go dawn :and

people :are itransferred eto rafts 301' small :hoa'ts after ithe tpositions ref 'nthe ships have ibeen :broadcast cinch crafts are "frequentlydriven iby-vzindtfar the scene ebefore rescuers arrive.

iiBy {the present invention :one or more see. anchors -may ibe :promided itor each boat which prevent the .ira fits 01 :boats fl' izcm Ebelng 'lblown day the wind so ifar awayas "to tprevent :thesame from abeing iound. '-'f1:he .sea :anchor molt ronly :holds the or "lhoaits :into the "wind, :but :zalsc retards mind drift.

:In addition moi-holding itheihow of awesselihead up into ithe mindlithis :sea :anchor :maintains -:a relatively fixed iposition {Of zthe wessel to which fit is attached :hecause of its sproperty f resorting :a

strong drag. This is advantagenusbecause:ocean currents sane swell .;charteii both :as rtovelocity and :clirecfiion. Wind fhOwGMGiZ, waries rconsiderably in many docalities :bcth as -{to velocity and direction.

:When "the present :sea anchor :is inflated it will 7 move without 'yawing in a direction that liS determined -in accordance with the :greater force that is applied to it by the wind resistance or the watericurrent.

A rescuevparty,w1thikn0w1edge of the direction and speed of ocean currents, can spot the probable location of the "distressed vessel many hours hirer the wessel :has repented its location, zbecause rduqlaims. (01. 114-209) the line is attached to a life boat or raft and as ithe distance that the boat would have -iceen driven by the wind and greatly iincreasing likelihood of the same being 'ffound.

:The invention :may he understood from zthe description :in :connection with :the {accompanying drawing in which:

fig. 1 Lisa side gview-showingra boat with thessea anchor soon after it has zbeenithrown-pverbcard;

:2 is a similar \v'i-ew :aiter ithe boat drifted-Ste somelextent;

Fig. :3 is ;a .side xview showing :a iportion mi 5a shroud' lineeand attached-painter;

Fig. :4 is a side 'view of a ortion in sthge wpain'ter line on a "larger r-scale partly Sin section;

,Eig. :5 ;is :a sectional view mi a portion :of ime ioldableparachute; and

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of 1a ccntainerdor :the device. 7

:In the drawing-character :1 indicatesaKheniiszpherical pouch :of :fiexible material such as Ia'bric or pliable plastic material. This 'snouch may be made in sections with the edges of the section's sewed together. A pluralitysof strands 1-2 forming a bridle have -;one end thereof :attached to the edge 101' equator of the pouch 1| at-zequa'llysspaced intervals. {Ilhese :strands :may :be :made :of nylon and they :extendzthrough a acircumfererrtiakrow 'of holes near the Ledge aof :a disc 13 :of alight-weight :material such as laminated cork :betweenwpndzor metal :which prevents "the strands ,01 bridle 'Elines 2 iii-0m Ebecpming wound together if the canopy l should :be rotated. This :disc '3 also :gives buoyancy to zthe apex end 50f the ibr'iclle 2 which slmnOrtsg-the canopy :1. meta-l weight 11 is fiecuredcto the canopy l atiits cerrter'abwmeansiof azstripqorcovering 5 {(FigjS).

A Stranded painter iline 36, which may :be :made of :a large :number of :strands of :nylon :or other material "woven to provide an :open core iconnectedato "the strands :2 ;by il'oops L provided-atithe ends act the lines '2 :and line I6. One or more buoyant ifioa'ts T1 :are secured within the line *6 at predetermined positions in the outer portion thereof by weaving the strands of line 6 around them. The buoyancy thus provided for 'the sea anchor unit I, '2 and :4 is such as to permit to sink to a predetermined 'depth. For instance, it can be :caused to sink about =ten feet below it-he surface so that it will be *in -the -prevailing curs rent of Water: Thus it is below the directi nal influence of the movement of waves that niay be present having a distance of as much asgabout ten feet or more between the crests and troughs thereof. By placing these floats 1 in the painter B or bridle lines 2 near disc 3 that is attached to the weighted canopy I. entanglement of the lines 2 that are attached to the canopy l is obviated and this canopy is permitted to descend in the water and assume the position to provide instant drag. A hand loop 8 is provided at the other end of line 6 for convenience in attaching to a load or drifting vessel.

A rectangularly-shaped container 9 is provided so that this sea anchor can be folded up and placed therein until needed. The sections I may be folded in two groups as indicated in Fig. 6 so as to lie flat with the line 6 also folded and lying between sections, and having the loop 8 hanging out to be readily available through an open edge of the container. After the device has been used it can be refolded and placed in the container 9.

This sea anchor operates as follows under varying wind and current conditions:

(a) In heavy wind pressure that causes rapid drift the vessel will head up into the Wind with its drift retarded;

b) With no wind and deep surface currents, it operates as a drag, pulling the vessel and maintaining its direction with that of the current;

' With cross current wind the vessel is caused to head up into the wind and drift with the current. This is the most hazardous circumstance to which occupants of a life raft may be subjected and under which the sea anchor is most beneficial because the sea under these conditions is choppy and most likely to swamp the raft;

(d) A lifeboat with sails may run before a high wind with its jib reefed. This weather condition generally produces a heavy following sea which blankets the sail and may cause the boat to broach-to in a heavy sea and be swamped. This sea anchor thrown off the stern of the boat prevents this danger. In this case the boat is towing the anchor as a drag to hold the stern up into the wind.

What is claimed is:

l. A sea anchor comprising an imperforat hemispherically-shaped pouch having an imperforate crown portion and a fixed weight of greater specific gravity than water attached to the center of the crown, said entire pouch consisting essentially of flexible sheet-like material and being wholly collapsible, but being adapted to" exert retarding force when in expanded condition under water, said weight being arranged so that the interior of the crown is free of substantial projection therein, at least several cords connected to the edge of the pouch at spaced intervals and constituting the sole connection to the pouch, said cords converging substantially equidistantly to an apex region remote from the pouch, and line means connected to said cords at said region, for connecting the sea anchor to a vessel, said cords and line means in series constituting a connecting system providing the sole transmission of retarding force from the pouch to the vessel, said connecting system carrying float means immediately adjacent therewith, including buoyant structur which is "remotely spaced from both the edge of the pouch and the end of the linemeans at the vessel, and said weight at the pouch crown and said float means being cooperatively adapted to hold the pouch completely below the surface of the water while preventing the connecting system from being drawn entirely vertically below the vessel.

2. A sea anchor comprising an imperforate hemispherically-shaped pouch entirely flexible throughout and wholly collapsible, said pouch being adapted to exert retarding force when in inflated condition under water, connecting line means for connecting the pouch to a vessel, said means consisting of a multiplicity of cords connected to the edge of the pouch at spaced intervals and converging to an apex region remote from the pouch and painter line means connected to the cords at said region and adapted to extend to the vessel, said connecting line means providing the sole transmission of retarding force from the pouch to the vessel, and means for controlling the depth to which said pouch will sink when said pouch and connecting line means are extended in the water, said controlling means comprising float means attached to said connecting line means wholly in close abutment therewith intermediate the ends thereof, and a fixed weight of greater specific gravity than Water attached to the center of the crown of the pouch, said weight lying wholly close to the surface of the crown and said pouch being entirely free of lines and connections except at its edge, and the interior of the pouch, upon inflation in the water, thereby constituting a hemispherical cavity of flexible material free of substantial projection therein, and said weight and float means, as constituted in said depth-controlling means, being cooperatively adapted to hold the pouch completely below the surface of the water while preventing the connecting line system from being drawn entirely vertically below the vessel.

3. A sea anchor as described in claim 2, in which the float means includes spacing means for the cords associated with the latter at a locality near said apex region, said spacing means being of less specific gravity than water and thereby having buoyancy for contributing to the depth-controlling action of the pouch depth controlling means.

4. A sea anchor as described in claim 2, in which the float means comprises a plurality of floats carried by and lying wholly in close abutment with the painter line means at localities spaced along the latter between said apex region and the end of said painter line means remote from said region.

LEONARD P. FRIEDER. WALTER S. FINKEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PA'rEN'rs Great Britain Get. 4, 1890 

